SUV drivers should be charged with TREASON!!!! (price, tax, repair)

[pennquaker09]

I don't have anything against SUVs, but I do have a problem with to pro-war suburbanites (of the republican persuasion) complaining about gas prices.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by k350

considering the ANWR has about 500 days worth of oil at our consumption rate, I seriously doubt any drilling would do anything other than screw up yet another pristine environment for many generations to come.

A) Few will ever visit ANWR

B) There are many other places in the US to drill - MANY other places

[k350]

It does not matter fi no one ever visits the place, the point is that there has to be left on Earth places for nature to exist, humans running amunk everywhere has already destroyed many places and worst is probably to come with popualtion booms in the coming. Something will give out somewhere at sometime, its that whole carrying capacity thing.

There are many places to drill, but none have the reserves to meet our daily needs, we will still have to import oil.

But the point is mute considering this.....there is no oil shortage, companies and oil nations are enjoying record profits as is, so there is no motivation to put more oil onto the market. Why invest billions to lower your profit, would you?

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by k350

There are many places to drill, but none have the reserves to meet our daily needs, we will still have to import oil.

You might want to do some studying up on the subject -

See - if we go after our reserves - we can totally eliminate our total dependence on ME oil.

[ArizonaBear]

What irks me is that the Germans during WW II did coal gassification------and, I would think the technology would have been improved in the last 60 years.

God knows we are sitting atop enough coal to supply this nation with motor fuel for probably the next 50-100 years easy------which would effectively bankrupt OPEC. If I have to pay $4+ a gallon in 2008 dollars for gasoline-----better to keep that money here at home vs. subsidizing people like Hugo Chavez.

I have no problem with strip mining------provided the 'played out' pits are reseeded to control erosion.

[Drover]

Great. So instead of drilling in a rock-strewn wasteland where virtually nothing lives, we'll encourage further exploration in nations that don't give a crap about environmental standards. Maybe while we're at it we can increase the demand for biofuels that has been leveling rainforests in South America to make way for the increased demand on biofuel-bound crops.

[k350]

Originally Posted by Greatday

You might want to do some studying up on the subject -

See - if we go after our reserves - we can totally eliminate our total dependence on ME oil.

Studying already done.

Show me where there is an economically viable source of oil in the US that will supply our entire needs for a reasonable amount of time.

[k350]

Originally Posted by Drover

Great. So instead of drilling in a rock-strewn wasteland where virtually nothing lives, we'll encourage further exploration in nations that don't give a crap about environmental standards. Maybe while we're at it we can increase the demand for biofuels that has been leveling rainforests in South America to make way for the increased demand on biofuel-bound crops.

Actually, many things live in that so called wasteland, lots of biodiversity there.

Palm oil plantations are causing for havoc than anything else. That along with cattle.

We are not demanding biofuels, the gov is shoving it on us. We do not import ethanol from Brazil so I do not see the relation.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by k350

Actually, many things live in that so called wasteland, lots of biodiversity there.

And the technology to drill on a small footprint and leave 99% of it undisturbed has existed for decades. I mean, I'd hate to disturb the mosquitoes and microbes and rocks that occupy the coastal portion of ANWR, but honestly, a wildlife refuge the size of South Carolina will carry on just fine even if we create a footprint there one-fourth the size of Akron. Enviroweenies try to paint it like we'd have to mow down the entire reserve just for a few drops of oil, which of course is nonsense on stilts. A little balance here, people. Just a little.

Originally Posted by k350

We are not demanding biofuels, the gov is shoving it on us.

The same people who won't let us drill anything, anywhere, certainly are demanding biofuels.

"We" are also not demanding four-dollar-a-gallon gas while huge oil reserves remain untapped, the gov is shoving it on us at the behest of your fellow travelers.

Originally Posted by k350

We do not import ethanol from Brazil so I do not see the relation.

I didn't say anything about importing ethanol from Brazil. I said we are importing biofuels (which includes biodiesels) from South America. Which we are. So go ahead and start acknowledging the relation.

[k350]

And?

How do you figure ANWR has even close to the amount of oil we need at our current consumption rate?

Also, why do you think anyone would want to spend billions to pump oil to drive prices down and make less of a profit? Everyone is making record or near record levels, why would they care to stop doing that? Oil companies are for profit organizations, shareholders demand that they maximize profit, not invest in driving it down.

Biofuels are a joke, what biofuels are we importing? considering no new diesels can even run anything over b5 without voiding the facotry warranty makes it null and void. We through a huge tarriff on ethanol imports for protectionism reasons.

Yes, the tech to drill does make a small foot print, but the foot print made by everything else is huge, I have been on a few projects for BP in Azerbijian, I have seen the "small footprint" made by exploration.

And again, us drilling oil is not going to drive prices down, the only way prices will get driven down is if there is an excess world supply, which i bet the oil companies, both private and national, will do there best to prevent.

If we pump out 5%, then someone is going to reduce by 5%, thus keeping world supply levels the same.

The ANWR argument would come into play if there was a physical shortage, but there isn't, it is an artificial one with a combination fo other effects like the dollar and specualtion which is driving prices up.

Plus, there is always the danger of countries doing something drastic, could you imagine investing billions ine xploration then having OPEC flood the market in return? Oil companies would lose billions in the process.

We can not be oil indepednent with our current consumption, it is impossible to do. Oil companies are not going to pump oil here and magically give it to us at a reduced rate, if that was the case then Alaska should have the cheapest fuel around. Point is all oil, even ours, is sold at global prices, it was only up till 2000 or so that we stopped, by gov order, from exporting oil to Japan from Alaska.